Sin City’s hulking megaresorts and casino hotels flashily
compete to lure travellers and their wallets inside with a dizzying array of
larger-than-life shows, celebrity-filled clubs, cabarets, jukebox bars and
cocktail lounges. Here are some of Vegas’s most astounding spectacles and
venues.

ShowsCirque du Soleil is
made for Vegas, where spectacle is the name of the game, and the aquatic O at Bellagio is the hottest ticket in
town. Aerial acrobatics, high dives and synchronised swimming create an
electrifying atmosphere. If you can’t get tickets, try Mystère, KÀ or the
Beatles-themed LOVE (Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd S; 7.30pm & 10pm
Wed–Sun; from £70).

Streaking down the centre of Vegas’s historical Glitter
Gulch gambling district, the Freemont
Street Experience is
a pedestrian mall lined with casinos and topped by a 450m-long canopy, which
displays a six-minute light and sound show hourly. The shows are kitsch but
mesmerising – and particularly exhilarating if you happen to be zooming by on
the new Flightlinez zipline (from
£10).

See the feather and rhinestone headdresses of old-school
Vegas showgirls at Bally’s Backstage
Tour, then score tickets to Jubilee! to
see the women in action. One of Vegas’s long-running shows, more than 1,000
costumes are worn during the extravaganza (surprising for a topless revue). If
you can forgive the cheesiness, you’ll have a riot (3645 Las Vegas Blvd S;
7.30pm & 10.30pm, not Fri; £38; tour £8 with a show ticket).

Bars
When it’s 4am, your feet hurt and you’re in no mood for another glitzy bar,
head to the Strip’s most spellbinding hideaway. In Peppermill’s Fireside Lounge,
the swinging ’70s never ended. Couples chill out in couches and sip mai tais
and martinis beside the glow of neon lights and faux flickering fireplaces (2985
Las Vegas Blvd S; open 24 hours; cocktails from £5).

Once you’ve dropped some serious cash on cocktails at the
megaresorts, head down to Fremont East to throw back a few beers at some local
downtown watering holes. This buzzing enclave is dominated by the Beauty Bar, a ’50s beauty salon
that’s been turned into a live music venue. DJs and bands (think anything from
punk to metal and glam rock) rotate nightly and the bar also hosts karaoke
nights (517 Fremont St; 9pm–2am; beers from £2).

Dangling like a glimmering jewel in the centre of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
is The Chandelier, a three-tiered cocktail bar that’s draped with glass beads.
Perched on a velvet loveseat, you’ll feel like you’re sipping champagne inside
a jewellery box. The first level hosts DJs, the second specialises in cocktails
(try the Fire Breathing Drago with Thai chilli) and the third serves floral and
fruit infusions (3708 Las Vegas Blvd S; open 24 hours; cocktails from £6.50).

Clubs
Steve Wynn’s signature hotel is home to Tryst:
a decadent club. Situated on a faux lagoon under a waterfall, the cascade
doesn’t just make the place look cool – the mist literally cools you off after
you’ve worked up a sweat. Expect over-the-top cocktails such as the 24k
gold-sprinkled Ménage a Trois (Wynn, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd S; 10pm–4am Thu–Sat;
cover charge from £13).

XS at Encore is the
hottest club in Vegas – for now. Centred around a gorgeous pool, the indoor-outdoor
layout gives the club an open feel that’s welcome at 3am after too many shots
of tequila. The world’s best DJs are often on the turntables and the scene is
upscale. Monday is the best night as the cover is cheap and the lines are much
shorter (Encore, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd S; Fri– Mon 10pm–4am; cover from £13).

TransportBA
flies to Las Vegas from London Gatwick and Heathrow, and Virgin Atlantic flies
from Gatwick and Manchester (from £620 from Gatwick). The easiest and cheapest
way to get to your hotel is by airport shuttle (£5 to the Strip). Las Vegas is
a great road trip destination, so you may want to fly to other US cities then
hire a car: LA is a 4½-hour drive, San Diego 5 hours. To get around Sin City,
it’s worth remembering that the Strip is more than four miles long. You’ll be
best off combining walking (the Strip has movable walkways and elevated
crosswalks) with monorail, bus rides and the occasional taxi.

Where to stay
Relive the fabulous heyday of Vegas in the ’50s at the Golden Nugget, a casino hotel
that set the downtown benchmark for extravagance. Outside, a three-storey water
slide plunges through a huge shark tank (129 E Fremont St; from £40).

Unlike most Vegas hotels, the 4,000-room Aria in CityCenter has no particular
theme. It attracts a sophisticated guest who comes for the contemporary design,
Fine Art collection and fantastic spa (3730 Las Vegas Blvd S; from £100).

Sin City’s most luxurious address is the Encore. It has beautiful indoor flower
gardens and standard rooms (suites) come with floor-to-ceiling windows and
flat-screen TVs in the bathrooms (3131 Las Vegas Blvd S; from £160).